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Tuesday, October 3, 2017

The Essentials- "Blade Runner"

The Essentials

Blade Runner

So, I am
probably going to sound like a bad movie fan, but up until tonight, I had never
seen “Blade Runner.” I know, I know but before you cast your stones, always
remember that even in a good year I don’t see everything I want to. There are
still several classic movies that I still need to see, movies that resonate so
profoundly and powerfully with movie geeks everywhere that I still need to
check out. I get to those films when I can get to them, that’s all I can do.

I have
been very excited about “Blade Runner 2049,” despite not seeing the first film.
I am a big fan of Ryan Gosling, Jared Leto, Dave Bautista, Robin Wright, and of
course, Harrison Ford. I love good science fiction. I love a good neo-noir. But
I felt I needed to see the first film to really appreciate the sequel, even
though I have heard that seeing the first film is not required to see “Blade
Runner 2049,” but I couldn’t do that. I wanted and needed to see the first “Blade
Runner.” As sad as this may sound, I have had it sitting on my DVD shelf for
over a year! Now was the time to pop it in, and watch it play out. But I knew
that might be harder than I thought, since there are eight versions of the
movie running around in the world.

Yep, you
read that right. Eight versions.

I finally
settled on watching the “Final Cut” of “Blade Runner.” Much to no surprise of
fans of the film, “Blade Runner” played like a dream for me. Even though the
film was released in 1982, the visions of the future in this film have a
strange, haunted beauty to them. It almost feels like a gothic horror movie
wrapped in a vaguely modern science fiction landscape. Back in the 1980’s, and
even before the 1980’s, the looks of dystopian futures were always
high-concept, always a little exaggerated, and always interesting to look at,
especially if a production didn’t have lots of money. In “Blade Runner,” the
look of the clothing, the look of the culture, the hardware used, the vehicles
used in this future, even the way people call each other on the phone is just
fascinating to look at. I’d love to see a documentary about this futuristic
world and how everything works.

If you are
uncool like me, then know that the story of “Blade Runner” is a simple one. In
the year 2019 (so two years from now, get ready!) corporations began to invent
and distribute humanistic robots known as Replicants. The Replicants were
strictly used only to perform manual labor on human colonies on various planets
across the universe. The Replicants were extra strong and extra fast, but if
they got onto Earth for any reason, they would be destroyed. When this movie
begins, a renegade group of Replicants are hiding on Earth. A special type of
Replicant-hunting cop called a Blade Runner are responsible for destroying the
Replicants, and Deckard (Harrison Ford) takes one last job to catch and kill
the renegades.

So, it’s a
pretty simple story, but its elevated to the highest known peak. That is thanks
to the splendid acting work done by Harrison Ford. This was off the heels of “Star
Wars,” “Empire Strikes Back” and “Indiana Jones” so Ford was already becoming a
big star. The film was really trying to sell itself on the power of Harrison
Ford, and I think he delivered another great performance. A near perfect blend
of movie star charisma with some raw, shadowed acting work. Sadly, when “Blade
Runner” was originally released, it pretty much bombed at the box office, and became
a cult classic later. I highly doubt that had anything to do with Harrison Ford,
but I bet general audiences were found lots of the movie weird.

I can
understand why somebody would think “Blade Runner” is a weird movie. There are
lots of strange characters in the movie, the look of the future is one of the
most detailed worlds ever committed to film, but there is a dark undertone to
the designs of this world. “Blade Runner” also just didn’t work like a regular
blockbuster. Well, not all the way that is. Harrison Ford’s character is named
Deckard, and while on his mission to kill the renegade Replicants, he falls in
love with a Replicant himself. Racheal, played by Sen Young, is an advanced
Replicant who believes she is human. Deckard’s relationship with Racheal grows
throughout the film, and she forces Deckard to question his mission entirely.
How does he know he's really killing Replicants if they are so convinced they
are human? How many humans has he killed in his career, if any? There are mere
glimpses of a budding romance, but only glimpses. Perhaps I oversold their
relationship a little too much, and for that I apologize. But it’s evident that
Deckard is a bit challenged by the invention and presents of Rachael, and it
adds an extra layer to the movie.

The
renegade Replicants are all cool, interesting foils to Deckard. The ring leader
of the group is Roy Batty, played by Rutger Hauer. Hauer is one of those
reliable actors who specializes in playing great villains. All his career, he
can turn in one immoral son-of-a-bitch after another. Roy Batty is a crazy,
deranged, intelligent and creative character. There is an intense feeling in
his eyes, that can really creep you out if you stare into them for too long. There
is a monstrous veracity to his character, and while its terrifying, it is also
absorbing. The final good-guy-versus-bad-guy showdown doesn’t work like many
other films. There is usually a crazy fight only for the hero to win. Here,
Deckard struggles quite a bit. He isn’t the typical hero that we find in these
types of movies. He nearly dies, in fact, there are many moments in the final
fight where we believe he will die. But he is saved by none other than Roy
Batty. I have contemplating over this scene all night, and I may have to watch
the movie again soon to see if there were clues and beats that I missed the
first time.

There is
also some business that Deckard may be a Replicant. It’s been debated and
digested for over a generation now. After one first viewing, I do kind of have
a feeling that Deckard might be a Replicant. I hope that we get some sort of
conclusion to this mystery in the new film in the next couple of days. I think
there is plenty of evidence that could point both ways, and I think perhaps
another viewing of this may benefit me in my final prediction. But I am really
hoping this gets resolved in the next film.

Overall, I
loved the movie. I am incredibly happy that I saw the movie. I think the movie
does a good job jogging around our imaginations, while also giving us all sorts
of things to discuss and play with after you done watching it. I am now, more
than ever, hoping for big things this weekend, and I hope I can get to the
theater sometime this week to see it!